Printing and embossing



Jun@ 13 c. A, FLOOD PRINT'NG AND EMBOSSING Filed Sept. 14, 1934 Patented June 9, 1936 Y Y 2,043,432

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE PRINTING AND ElV.[BOSSING Carl A. Flood, Framingham, Mass., assignor to Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingham, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 14, 1934, Serial No. '743,966

9 Claims. (Cl. 101-196) In embossing machines for printing labels, the ske1eton waste portion so that the skeleton seals and the like in a plurality of colors it is also adheres to the belt, the skeleton and the customary to feed a ribbon of paper or sheet embossed articles being separately stripped from metal between a bed and a series o-f dies lengththe belt at the delivery end of the machine.

5 wise of the series, the dies being inked with The aforesaid friction means at the output end different colors and the strips being fed interof the machine is preferably driven in synmittently by steps equal to the distance between chronism within the feed rolls at the input end. the centers of the dies so that recurrent sections of the machine, either at the same speed or of the strip are recurrently printed in different preferably at a slightly greater speed. By 1ocolors. The sections are cut out of the strip eating the strip feeding means at the input end 10 either by one of the dies or by a Separate cutter, of the machine rather than the output end as leaving a skeleton strip of waste material which is customary the feed rolls operate on the strip is fed to a take-up reel, the printed articles being before it is cut by the dies, thereby permitting separately fed from the machine. the feed means to have a more positive control l5 An outstanding diiiiculty with machines of this over the strip. By providing, in advance of the 15 type is accurately to feed the strip by steps which embossing means, feed rolls which have more are eXeCtly equal 130 JChe dstanee belWeeIl Centers positive control over the strip than the friction of dies so that the impressions of the various ro-lls beyond the embossing means, accuracy of dies Will exactly register with each other. This registration is increased and waste is reduced.

diculty is particularly pronounced for the rea- For the purpose of illustration a concrete em- 2,0

son that the skeleton strip issuing from the mabodiment of the invention is shown in the acchine, by which the strip is ordinarily pulled companying drawing in which,

I through the machine, is so fragile as to be easily Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view, parts stretched, distorted and torn. It has been probeing shown in section and other parts broken posed to feed the strip through the machine on away; 25 an endless belt but inasmuch as the belt must Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the be relatively soft it stretches too easily to afford bed of the machine and one of the dies; and an accurate feeding medium. Fig. 3 is a rear view of the drive means.

Objects of the present invention are to provide The particular embodiment of the invention an embossing machine in which the strip may be chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises 30 fed accurately and upon which the successive a, bed I, a so-called make-ready 2 mounted on impressions may be made in precise registry, and the bed, an endless rubber belt 3, embossing dies to reduce the waste which has hitherto resulted 4 mounted on a common support 5 movable up from inaccurate registration and torn strips. and down by the usual mechanism and an ink According to this invention a strip is fed by roll 'I which rolls under the dies 4 while they 35 means located" not beyond the dies at the output are in elevated position as shown in Fig. 1.y The end of the machine but in advance of the dies strip to be embossed is fed from a feed roll 8 at the input end of the machine. The feeding under a roller 9 and thence between the bed means, which are preferably in the form of presand dies, the aforesaid skeleton strip I4 being sure rolls, may operate directly on the strip or delivered to a take-up roll I0. Both the belt 3 Lto indirectly on the strip through the medium of and the strip II to be embossed are fed by an endless belt or both may be fed between the means of the pressure rolls I2 which rotate inpressure rolls. At the output end of the machine termittently between successive impressions by I provide means, preferably in the form of a the dies 4, each intermittent rotation of the rolls friction roll or rolls, to hold taut the portion of I2 being correlated with the spacing of the dies 45 the strip extending between the dies and the so that each forward step of the belt and strip bed of the machine. While the friction means is exactly equal to the distance between centers may operate on the strip or belt or both it prefof dies. erably operates directly only upon the belt and The portion of the belt between the bed and only indirectly on the strip through the medium the dies is held taut by the friction roll I3 and 5o of the belt, it being understood that the dies inasmuch as the strip Il adheres tightly to the impress the embossed sections of the strip more belt as aforesaid the portion of the strip beor less into the belt so that they adhere fairly tween the bed and dies is likewise held taut by tightly to the belt and that the embossed secthe friction roll I3 acting thro-ugh the medium tions are usually not completely severed from of the belt. The waste skeleton I 4 is stripped 55 from the belt at the roll I3, the labels or other embossed articles I still adhering to the belt. In order to strip the labels from the belt the latter is pulled around a sharp corner I6, thereby causing the embossed articles to be delivered at I 'I. After passing the corner I6 the belt passes between rolls I3 and 2| which are held together by a spring 22 acting on roll 2I through arm 23. Thence the belt passes under an adjustable roll 2li which prevents the belt winding around roll 2I if the belt be sticky.

In order to hold those portions of the belt and strip between the bed and dies with a uniform and constant degree of tautness the friction roll I3 is driven in synchronism with the feed rolls I2 by means of a shaft I8 connected to the roll I3 by bevel gears I9 and to the rolls I2 by bevel gears 2Q, the shaft I8 being rotated intermittently by pawl and ratchet mechanism driven by the rack 6 reciprocating back and forth by suitably timed means. As above indicated, the -peripheral velocity of the friction roll I3 is preferably somewhat greater than that of the feed rolls I2, this being indicated in exaggerated form in the drawing by showing the roll I3 somewhat larger in `diameter than the rolls I2.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A multicolor printing and embossing machine comprising means including a series of dies for recurrently printing recurrent sections of a strip of material with different colors and cutting out the sections, means in advance of said series of dies for feeding the strip of material to the dies, and means beyond the series of dies for holding taut the portion of the strip between the last two means, said rst means having more positive control over the strip than the second means whereby the rate of travel of the strip is determined solely by the first means.

2. A multicolor printing and embossing machine comprising means including a series of dies for recurrently printing recurrent sections of a strip of material with different colors and cutting out the sections, means in advance of said series of dies for feeding the strip of material to the dies, means beyond the series of dies for holding taut the portion of the strip between the last twomeans, and means for causing said feeding means to control the strip more positiveiy than said last means whereby the rate of travel of the strip is determined solely by the feeding means.

3. A multicolor printing and embossing machine comprising means including a series of dies for recurrently printing recurrent sections of a strip of material with different colors and cutting out the sections, driving means in advance of said series of dies for feeding the strip of material to the dies, friction means pulling forwardly on the strip beyond said series, and means for driving the friction means slightly faster than said feeding means, thereby to hold taut the portion of the strip between the driving means and friction means, said driving means having more positive control over the stripthan said friction means whereby the rate of travel of the strip is determined solely by the feeding means.

4. A multicolor printing and embossing machine comprising a bed, a series of dies movable toward and from the bed, an endless belt extending between the bed and dies lengthwise of series, means in advance of said series for feeding the belt, means beyond the series for holding taut the portion of the belt between the bed and dies, and means for causing said feeding means to l5 control vthe belt more positively than said last means whereby the rate of travel of the belt is determined solely-.by -the feeding means.

6. A multicolor printing and embossing machine comprising a bed, a series of dies movable toward and from the bed, anendless belt extending between `the bed vand di-es lengthwise of said series, driving means in advance of said series for feeding the belt, friction .means pulling forwardly on the belt beyond said series, and means for driving the frictionmeansslightly faster than the feeding means, thereby to hold taut the portion of the belt between the bed and dies, said driving means having more ypositive control over the strip than said -friction means whereby the rate of travel of the strip is determined solely by the feeding means.

'7. A multicolor printing and embossing machine comprising a bed, a series of dies movable toward and from the bed, an endless .belt extend- 3 ing between the bed and ydies lengthwise of said series to form a backing for a strip of .material to be embossed, pressure rolls .in advance of said series for feeding the belt and strip, and means beyond the series for holding taut those portionsfic of the belt and strip between the bed and dies, said rst means having more positive control over the strip than the second-means whereby the rate of travel of the strip is determined solely by the first means. .43

8. A multicolor `printing and embossing machine comprising -a bed, a series of dies movable toward and from the bed, `an endless belt extending between the bed and dies lengthwise of said series to form a backing for a strip of ina-5o terial to be embossed, pressure rolls in advance t of said series for feedingthe belt and strip, means beyond the series for holding taut those portions of the belt and strip betweenthe bed and dies, and means for causing said feeding means to controlthe strip more positively than said last means 1 whereby the rate of travel of the strip is determined solely by the feeding means.

9. A multicolor printing and embossing machine comprising -a bed, a series of dies movableato toward and from the bed, an endless belt extend-` ing between the bed and dies lengthwise o f said series to form a backing for a strip of material to be embossed, pressure rolls in advance of said series for feeding the belt and strip, friction means-c5 pulling forwardly on the. belt beyond said series, and means for driving the friction means slightly faster than the feeding means thereby to hold taut those portions of the belt and strip between the driving means and friction means, said driving means having more positive control over the strip than said friction means whereby the rate of travel of the strip is determined solely by the feeding means.

CARL AA. FLOOD. 

